Bar #52 Pug Mahones (Deceased)

Taken by Pug Mahones

There are many important parts to creating a successful bar. Selection, value, food, entertainment, and atmosphere are some obvious pieces to the puzzle of building a bar that will survive. This week's bar did well in many respects but excelled in one in particular, service. Bar #52, is Pug Mahones, home to one of our newest favorite bartenders.

This week's Every Bar in Lakewood's trip came on the heels of the Winter Vortex. A two day siege of wind chills reaching -40 degrees, bypassing the frigid temperatures of the North Pole. As the temperatures raised back up to a balmy fucky cold again, cabin fever screamed out that I needed to see people, and numb the memories of the being numb, via beer. So, we set off into the new, pretty, and less painful snowfall. The snow did prevent me from getting a picture of the front sign.

Upon entering the bar, 10 minutes late, to a mildly busy Pug Mahones I had to preform the always awkward, walking around the bar looking for friends that haven't arrived. It is a mixture of your eyes darting around wildly and walking slowly in random directions like a ghost from Pacman. It turned out I was there first. I immediately sent out the customary text messages to everyone else making them feel bad for showing up late. At least until they realized they arrived only a couple minutes after I did. This included Jon who was almost standing behind me as I hit send.

Pug Mahones looks like your standard bar (wood booths, big TVs, an assortment of beer items on the walls) but with a lot of extras. The booths all come equipped with their own small flat screen TVs. There are a couple video games including a Pacman machine with a bunch of Atari games included. You've also got foosball, skee ball, and a punching bag machine.

Pug Mahones has a level assortment of beer options with as many domestic favorites as interesting craft beers that you may not have tried before. I went with, what may be the only pumpkin beer still on tap in Lakewood, Crooked River's Eerie Nights Pumpkin Ale. It was a good beer that embraced its pumpkin side without hiding it with too many spices. Eerie Nights was little on head but big on aroma. Looking online for this brewery you would think they were out of business. Make sure you try their beers while you can. They may not be long for this world, but if the rest of their beers are this good I hope they stick around.

We were greeted by Chrissy the bartender, once we had come to terms with both being late but almost the exact same amount of late. She was both friendly and engaging, the type of bartender that feels like your friend by the time your first beer is paid for. She was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about craft beer and the bar she worked in. Also, even though she was working a full bar plus our table, she never left us waiting. This is one of the major ingredients that allows bars to be successful.

Having a bartender that one's customers will want to keep visiting means repeat customers and creates a bar that survives for the long haul. When it comes down to it, a bar's personnel is the real difference between different bars. There are always multiple bars with the combination of good food, types of beers, prices, entertainment and so forth that you're looking for, but having a staff you get along with and does their job well is always the game changer.

Pug Mahones is currently having menu issues. They didn't have enough for the 6 of us; they only had two to spare. There were also misprints throughout it. If you are bored you can play find the baccon! This is probably due to it being designed for free. As a person that's done a lot over the years for nonprofits it always annoys me when volunteers slack off because they aren't actually getting paid. If you want to do something, do it right because, it's still a reflection on you. I'll assume I've been holding up with this ideal on the blog because the internet is rarely kind to any kind of weakness or failure. On a positive note, the menu did have lots of options and a new menu should be coming out soon.

I was told by a random patron that the burgers, which were also on special, were good. I got the bacon cheddar burger with homemade fries. It was better than average. Everyone was happy with their food with one exception. The cook forgot our pregnant friend's BLT. Perhaps, he is a thrill seeker that enjoys tempting painful death. We gave it more time than we should have since all of her ingredients were included on my burger that I received 15 minutes previous. I told Chrissy and she practically ran into the back and made sure that it was done at the maximum speed possible.

We made sure that we cashed out when the shift change was happening; so that we could tip Chrissy for her service. Remember, if your bartender/waitress takes care of you then you need to take care of her or him.

The patrons of Pug Mahones all seemed fairly random, not falling into any type or age bracket. They were neither angry nor rowdy. They were just people content to concentrate on their drinking and talking to their immediate neighbors. Classic rock was played all night on the juke box by a single person and his wife...or daughter, we weren't able to figure that one out...People watching is fun!

Pug Mahones is a pretty cool bar. It's a good place to watch the game. I love having the option of the little personal TVs in case you just wanted to watch curling this winter. They have a lot of games you can play. I was happy enough with the food and beer options, as most people will be. On occasions, in the past, I've had to say that I don't know if the service is always bad or if this was just a bad night. This time I have the opposite to say, I had great service but can't guarantee that it's always in the running for best service in town. Especially, when one considers their menu situation. Bar #52 has a lot to offer and great service offering it. It's time you accept their offer.

17625 Detroit Rd
216-228-8874
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Bar #45 Eddy & Iggy's (Deceased)

Theme, every bar opens with one in mind. Beyond the obvious putting together a place where people drink alcohol, enjoy themselves, and spend enough money to make a profit, most bars open with a vision of what will set them apart from the masses. Some owners decide I'm going to make a place for people to watch sports. Others want a bar with great food. Yet other owners want a bar where people will get drunk on cheap booze. Regardless they all see their ideas as unique and usually personal to what they, themselves want from a bar. This week's bar opened with an obvious purpose but had to fall back to one of the cornerstones of running a popular business: the customer is always right. Bar # 45 is Eddy and Iggy's.

Earlier in the day I had a conversation with Johnny about where we were going for tonight's bar. It came down to me saying, “Not the Iggy's on Madison with the little neon sign; Eddy and Iggy's across from the Beck Center.” He quickly wrote down, “The Iggy's bar (unknown word) on Madison.” I have a habit of showing up a little late but this week I made sure I was on time. As you probably guessed I beat him there.

The inside of Eddy and Iggy's is a light yellow with an old style tin ceiling. There are lights and plasma TVs all over the place forcing you into a state artificial entertained euphoria. The walls are covered in St. Edwards and St. Ignatius sports items. That's why they are called Eddy and Iggy's, just in case you hadn't put that together yet. They even have a sign showing all of both schools championships and the winner of their football game that year, signified through the title of Holy War Winner. The bar crowd, though sparse tonight, was primarily there to watch the Indians game. There are also long rows of unique beer tap handles above the front windows.


Eddy and Iggy's produce their own beers. They have a huge lineup of beer options brewed through a third party brewery. Monday is growler day if you want to want to take some home with you at a discount. I was going to at least sample them all during my visit. Turns out their brewery has been expanding lately and hasn't had the space to brew the bar's beers, leaving me with only stouts. Honestly, I don't really like stouts. I can drink them, say why one is better than another and appreciate a good one but I'll rarely want one. Instead I ordered Great Lakes Brewery's Oktoberfest. It's crisp with a bit of fizz and tastes of fall spices. There isn't much actual beer taste to it, but GLB's Oktoberfest is still enjoyable to drink.

Well, Johnny still hadn't arrived so I ordered some food. I went with their Sweet and Spicy Tiger Sauce Wings because with that name how can you wrong. One way you can is by not having wings with bones. I went with their boneless variety instead. They were good and a little crunchy. The sauce is a bit spicy and smokey. They are a pleasing choice. They are also small and an order will not constitute a meal. Also, it's a little pricey for the amount of food.

Johnny finally called me from Iggy's. He didn't seem remember our actual conversation but it turns out the mystery word was “not” and wasn't “is”. Unfortunately, he road his bike. Johnny then had to ride back home and get his car.


Shortly after I finished eating he finally arrived and ordered his own wings (plane) and Oktoberfest. I decided I need more food and got funnel cake. It tasted good but was a little tough/chewy.

For second beer I went with Hala Kahiki Pineapple Beer. It's brewed by Rivertowne Pourhouse out of the zombie capital of the world, Monroeville, Pa. It tastes like pineapples, goes down smooth but wasn't too sweet. In other words, since this beer is highly drinkable and not a light beer, you will drink it quickly many times over and become drunk far quicker than you had planned.

Johnny order Eddy & Iggy's Black Storm. It's a complex stout with the characteristic sweetness mixed with a duel coffee and chocolate bitter taste.  It stays interesting from start to finish.  It's tap is a black bear.

They have pay phone recharging machine. You plug your phone in and then lock the door and charge your phone. The back panel of the machine was unlocked. It also, tells you what music is playing and I assume gives the option of changing it.

Mike was eventually our bartender. He was attentive and helpful on a slow night. He works here once a week. He can talk a lot about Iron Maiden, beer and baseball.

Eddy and Iggy's was originally and still somewhat is a high school alumni sports bar for St. Eds and St. Ignatius High School. They wore the catholic school girl or boys school uniforms for the first 6 months. Quickly it became apparent that besides fall Friday nights the crowd was younger than expected and didn't understand the choice in wardrobe. The bar now caters mainly to 20 somethings. They have karaoke every night. Many nights people from the Beck Center make their way over to up the quality level of singing a peg. You can play Pac Man on a 101” projection system. I didn't realize this so I didn't get to try it out.


They have a patio with tables, chairs and whatnot.


I'll probably be heading back because I didn't do any of their fun stuff: karaoke, bar brewed beer, wings with bones, corn hole, beer pong, burgers (They're supposed to have good burgers but I didn't get one. The only person I know that's gotten one, said that hers was frozen in the center. How was yours, let me know? It's good to have a consensus.), giant projection video game, patio...phone charging. Subtracting all the extra stuff and coming in while they're slow (the weekends are packed,) I enjoyed myself at Eddy and Iggy's. The bartenders were friendly and attentive. I liked the beers I drank and their options. The food has its ups and downs but was tasty. Eddy and Iggy's has so much awesome going on that I still need to try that I have to go back and so should you. It is also my 45^th bar.

17900 Detroit Ave

216-228-1212

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Website  <---Check this out.  They have a lot of helpful E&I info.

Bar #16: Madison Square Lanes

There's a bar in Lakewood that doesn't bowl for compliments with flashiness and gimics.  I've struck this bar more than any other in Lakewood.  But it's been a while since I've been there and have been pinning for it.  I couldn't spare another week.  So this weekend after the Spooky Pooch Parade we went to bar #16, Madison Square Lanes!

True, Madison Square Lanes doesn't have a tap.   For every rule an exception must be made, and there is something exceptional about Madison Lanes.  The bowling alley offers a bar, snack bar, bowling (of course,) pool, and a random assortment of arcade games.  What pulls all this together is Mike the owner.  He is always willing to help out and remembers the people that come in.

Your beer options cover both your normal options in canned form and a number of Great Lakes Brewery beers in bottles.  This is the first place I had the hipster iconic beer, PBR.  Since then, I have probably drank more PBR then any other beer.  The funny thing about PBR is that it's not very good, it's like a alcoholic water with a hint of beer.

They do have a variety of smacks you can order to be made from the bar.  More importantly, they have Sam's Smokies!  The best generic meat product in a plastic jar that money can buy.


I used a specific red ball back when I used to bowl more often.  It was the perfect weight and the holes were exactly where I wanted them.  This ball bumped my mediocre 130 average to a respectable 180.  The trick was that there was a chip in the finger hole that forced me to bowl better.  It also, made a mildly painful dent in my finger.  Mike wouldn't sell me it.  Turns out I wasn't the only one using it.  The combination of pain and a false sense of skill lead me to buy a new ball and shoes.  My finger felt better but my score did not.


Tonight, I used my red ball of awesome one last time.  One last time because it had two chunks taken out of it.  It left a dent but not in my score.  It seems if your ball randomly bounces it becomes less effective at hitting the pins.

Who is Mike you ask?  Mike owns and runs Madison Square Lanes.  He is what makes the bowling alley worth while.  He remembers the people that come to the Lanes and is usually there to offer advice on bowling and the individual lanes.  Thanks Mike.


Madison Lanes also has some other games.  There's a pool table.  You can get the feel of an amusement park with a classic quality skee ball game, sorry no game tickets.  You've also got the options of eating ghost clothes, jet skiing, and dancing.  You can also play your favorite backyard game, corn hole, but in an electronic folly ball version.  

Lastly, the bar has a juke box with a weird mixture of hits from over the last 60 years.  I usually make it my job to monopolize it for the entire time I'm there.  Primarily this is to prevent other people from playing bad music than my own skills as a dj.  Don't worry if you see me there I won't play anything off of the Best of Bread album.

I'm naming Madison Square Lanes as bar #16.  I go there to drink and have a good time with my friends.  This bar makes me happy and you should give it a try.  Tell Mike I sent you.


Awesome: Customer Service, Bowling, Juke Box

1653 Westwood Ave.

216-221-8558

Madison Square Lanes

Bar #8: Red Rose Cafe (Expanded & Renovated)

I used to see her on a regular basis. We liked to go bowling. She always made me this pop corn that was that addicting combination of slightly stale and a bit extra salty. Then one day she decided I should sing every time I saw her. I was out of there. It's been a few years. It's time to see her again. This week's bar is one of my ex-regular bars. My ex is Bar #8, the Red Rose Cafe, and I think we can be friends.

We ended up meeting up with John and Katie at the Red Rose at 7:25. This is important because the cheap burgers and kitchen in general both ended at 7:30. The burger and fries were fine, I had
 no complaints about them whatsoever. I also need to go back for the deep fried Oreos; I've never had them and I need to. There was no pop corn.

My beer of choice was Dortmunder breaking my Great Lakes seal on this blog. I'm still optimistic that I'll be able to have a different beer at every bar. I like Great Lakes Brewing Company, regardless of what beer I get from them I'm sure it'll be good. Kelly got a Blue Moon. She was mocked by some chick in sweat pants for her “fancy beer” when she asked for an orange with it.

As for ambiance, it looks like a generic dive bar with a skinny yet effective patio in the back. However, what makes the Red Rose Cafe awesome requires some quarters. They have a Pac-Man/Ms Pac-Man/Galaga arcade game. I didn't play it. I will when I go back for my Oreos. What we did play for hours was the best bowling machine I've found in Cuyahoga county. It uses real wooden balls and has a bunch of settings. These includes FLASH-O-MATIC, everything is better when it's made o-matic. It even has a built in drinking game.

 A note of warning. If you bring a bunch of nerdy guys to a bar they will act exactly the same except for one difference. No matter how stupid your logic is, if you are the loudest you must be correct. Luckily, due a genetic advantage I'm always right.

I originally left because of one of the Red Rose Cafe's improvements, karaoke. I think it helped their business but it's not what I want on a normal bar night. Since then, they've added a patio and a kitchen. I approve of the new Red Rose Cafe. You should go eat deep fried Oreos and play bar bowling because you have no excuse not to.

Awesome: Deep Fried Oreos, Bar Bowling

14810 Madison Ave

216-228-7133

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Red-Rose-Cafe/202294795832